Iran to 'speed up' uranium enrichment at nuclear plants

The Bushehr nuclear plant, Iran's first nuclear power station, begun operating in May

Iran says it is installing newer and faster centrifuges at its nuclear plants, with the goal of speeding up the uranium enrichment process.

The foreign ministry says the United Nations nuclear watchdog, the IAEA, has "full supervision" of the operation.

The French government has condemned the move as a "new provocation".

France and other Western powers fear that Iran's nuclear programme is aimed at developing nuclear weapons. Iran says its programme is for civilian use.

Enriched uranium can be used for civilian nuclear purposes, but also to build atomic bombs. Tehran insists that it is refining uranium for electricity generation and medical applications.

"By installing the new centrifuges progress is being made with more speed and better quality," said Iran's foreign ministry spokesman Ramin Mehmanparast.

He said the move showed Iran's success in pursuing its "peaceful nuclear activity", but did not say where the new generation of centrifuges would be installed, or provide details on the speed or capability of the machines.

'Suspicions confirmed'

France was quick to condemn the announcement.

Nuclear Fuel Cycle

Mined uranium ore is purified and reconstituted into solid form known as yellowcake

Yellowcake is chemically processed and converted into uranium hexafluoride gas